Imagination Delivered: A Box of Make Believe
In 2022, we were generously awarded a project impact grant from the California Arts Council. For this project, we had a vision of bringing a bit of the Museum of Make Believe directly into people’s homes by providing unique hands-on arts projects packaged into one box. We wanted to give back to our community by donating fifty “boxes of make believe” to youth in need. To start, we worked with our wonderful designer from Creative Blue Yonder to create a box that could be transformed into a piece of art. Each box turns into a beautiful shadow puppet theater complete with red velvet curtains and charming silhouette puppets that tell an original fairy tale.
“Box of Make Believe” shadow puppet theaters being created by students from the Anaheim afterschool program that received our fifty donated boxes.
Please enjoy the original fairytale above that accompanied the shadow puppets and theater.
Each box also included three hands-on projects that all came with their own tales, including “Memory Pictures”, the “Wishing Chimes” and the “Tomorrow Stone”. Artist, Kelsey Irvin, created the “Memory Pictures” project. Students all received a 5 x 5 inch birch wood panel in their boxes and a collection of vintage ephemera to create their own nostalgic memory collages.
Samples of “Memory Pictures” created as examples for students.
Enjoy the tutorial video above to learn how to create your own “Memory Picture”.
For the “Wishing Chimes” project, students made their own magical chimes built onto twigs with all sorts of cherished objects including pinecones, acorns, skeleton keys, silver charms and bells that ring when your wish comes true.
Students creating their very own magical “Wishing Chimes” .
Please enjoy the original fairytale above that accompanied the “Wishing Chimes” project.
Tomorrow Stone
Each box came with a hand-polished gemstone (donated from Smith & Stone Co.) along with everything needed to create an enchanted “tomorrow stone” necklace. The legend of the “tomorrow stone” tells us that if you hold it in your hand once a day and think of your fondest dream, greatest desire and strongest wish, believing with all of your heart that it is so, if done faithfully…your dreams will come to pass.
We were thrilled to be able to donate fifty of these boxes to the wonderful city of Anaheim for their Fun on Wheels program that delivers betterment in a big blue bus to ten locations around the city. They provide arts, enrichment, fitness and tutoring for free to families in need every single day. We were so happy to partner with this incredible program by providing these boxes of make believe!